Night lay deep. Xiao Yan sat on the stone stool in his courtyard, turning the slip of paper taken from the counterfeit Heavenly Flame Fragment between his fingers. The paper was coarse, but its ink carried a barely perceptible fluctuation of spiritual power. Clearly, a cultivator had written it.
"An elder of the Misty Cloud Sect..." he murmured. His emperor realm soul quietly stirred as he carefully weighed the information behind that single short line.
As one of the Jia Ma Empire's foremost powers, the Misty Cloud Sect accorded its elders exalted status, and their cultivation was at least at the Dou Wang level. Why would someone like that stoop to lurking in tiny Wutan City? And why had they set their sights directly on the Xiao Clan?
Was it because Nalan Yanran had broken off the engagement? That seemed unlikely. Given the Misty Cloud Sect's standing, it had no need to take such a roundabout route if it truly wanted revenge.
Was it because the Xiao Clan harbored some secret? Xiao Yan thought of the black wooden box his father had given him, and the many mysteries his mother had left behind. Perhaps his mother was the heart of the matter.
He held the slip to the candle flame and watched the ink turn to ash, his gaze gradually deepening. Whatever the Misty Cloud Sect wanted, this hidden chess piece posed an enormous threat.
"Yao Lao, what do you think?" Xiao Yan asked inwardly.
Yao Lao's soul form slowly emerged, his aged face grave. "The Misty Cloud Sect's ambitions have grown increasingly apparent in recent years. Not only has it expanded its influence within the Jia Ma Empire, it has also secretly contacted certain ancient tribes. Its interest in the Xiao Clan is no coincidence. Your mother's identity... may be more complicated than it seems."
Yao Lao had met Xiao Yan's mother a few times. He knew only that she had come from beyond these lands; she had never disclosed her precise origins. Thinking back now, if she could draw such attention from the Misty Cloud Sect, her background was probably far from ordinary.
"Our immediate priority is to find that hidden elder," Xiao Yan said gravely. "But his cultivation is at least at the Dou Wang level. I'm not strong enough to clash with him head-on yet. I have to keep hiding."
He brought up the system panel, and lines of information appeared in his mind:
[Host: Xiao Yan] [Current realm: Peak Dou Sheng (concealed; outward display: Dou Qi Third Stage)] [Core mission: Hide your true strength and resolve crises without exposing yourself] [Restrictions: You may not initiate attacks against targets three major realms below your own (except when disguised as accidents); you may not reveal power beyond your current outward realm unless necessary] [Current disguise rating: A ("Trash" persona firmly established; no suspicion from high-level experts)]
His recent experiences had given him a deeper understanding of the system's rules. "Disguised as accidents" did not mean merely covering his tracks. Everything had to appear reasonable and fit the behavioral logic of a "low-level cultivator." For instance, stirring up underground lava in the desert had looked like a natural disaster, but in truth, he had harnessed existing forces. Setting fire to lamp oil in the caravan had likewise exploited his surroundings rather than directly wielding heavenly flames.
"The system's core is 'plausibility,'" Xiao Yan concluded. "As long as my actions make sense for my outward identity, even results that far exceed expectations won't count as violations."
Yao Lao nodded. "These rules seem like restraints, but they actually give you tremendous room to maneuver. With your soul power, you can easily 'devise strategies within the command tent and harness the tide to break the deadlock.'"
Xiao Yan wholeheartedly agreed. His strongest weapon now was neither the Green Lotus Core Flame nor his Peak Dou Ling strength, but the emperor realm soul hidden beneath the shell of a "good-for-nothing."
"Next, I need to do two things," Xiao Yan analyzed methodically. "First, uncover the Misty Cloud Sect elder's identity and purpose, while finding out what's hidden in the wooden box Mother left behind. Second, deal with the Mo Family's threat. I can't let them upset Wutan City's balance, much less trace anything back to me."
He rose and walked to the courtyard wall, gazing at the pitch-black sky beyond it. A cold smile curved his lips. "Since the Mo Family wants to splash dirty water on me, I might as well 'steer the boat with the current' and let them taste what it means to draw fire onto themselves."
Early the next morning, Xiao Yan went to the Training Ground "as usual" and made a show of practicing his sword for a while. In front of several familiar branch-family disciples, he deliberately "complained" that the Mo Family had gone too far by falsely accusing him of killing Mo Cheng.
"If I hadn't run fast enough, I'd probably have become a ghost beneath the Mo Family's blades long ago..." He sighed miserably, looking frightened and uneasy.
Word soon reached the Mo Family's base in Wutan City.
Mo Feng sat in a dim room, listening to his subordinate's report. A vicious smile appeared on his face. "So it really was that brat! It seems the Black Rock City affair most likely had something to do with him. How could a piece of trash at Dou Qi Third Stage escape Mo Cheng? Someone must be pulling the strings behind him!"
The deputy beside him hurriedly asked, "Elder Mo, should we act directly and capture him for questioning?"
"No rush." Mo Feng waved a hand, calculation flashing through his eyes. "The brat belongs to the Xiao Clan. Moving openly would put Xiao Zhan on guard. Besides, I keep feeling there's more to this brat than meets the eye. We might be able to fish out whoever stands behind him."
He paused, then said coldly, "Spread the word that Xiao Yan stole the Mo Family's ancestral treasure. Anyone who brings him to us bound will receive a thousand taels of gold and one Dou Technique!"
A lavish reward would always draw brave men. Mo Feng refused to believe no one would dare lay hands on the Xiao Clan's "trash." When the time came, he could reap the fisherman's gains, eliminating Xiao Yan while discovering who was secretly helping him.
The news quickly spread through Wutan City's streets and alleys. For a time, countless greedy gazes fixed on the Xiao Clan—and on Xiao Yan.
Some unaffiliated cultivators and desperate outlaws were already rubbing their fists and palms in anticipation. In their eyes, a piece of trash at Dou Qi Third Stage could not withstand a single blow. The thousand taels of gold and the Dou Technique were theirs for the taking.
The Xiao Clan also erupted into an uproar.
"Our little brother's in trouble now! The Mo Family is utterly shameless, resorting to tricks like this!" Xiao Ding slammed the table in anger, his face full of anxiety.
Xiao Li's expression was dark. "I've already stationed more men outside his courtyard, but there are so many of them that we can't guard against everything. Should I go wipe out the Mo Family's base?"
Xiao Zhan shook his head. "No. The Mo Family has operated in Wutan City for years, and an even greater force backs it. If we openly tear apart all pretense of civility, the Xiao Clan will be left on the back foot." He turned to Xiao Yan. "What do you think?"
Xiao Yan sat in his chair without the slightest trace of panic on his face. Instead, he showed a hint of "bewilderment." "Father, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I... I don't know what to do. I never stole anything from them. They're framing me!"
The more "panicked and helpless" he appeared, the more convinced Mo Feng would become that someone stood behind him, and the less readily he would dare deliver a killing blow. This was precisely the effect Xiao Yan wanted—to buy time while exposing the Mo Family's greed for everyone to see.
"Stay in your courtyard for now. Don't go out. I'll find a way," Xiao Zhan said gravely, a glint of resolve passing through his eyes.
Xiao Yan returned to his courtyard "with tears of gratitude." The instant he closed the gate, the panic vanished from his face, replaced by utter calm.
He walked into the courtyard, looked at a weed growing in the corner, and lightly pointed a fingertip at it. An almost imperceptible thread of dou qi shot out. It was not an attack; instead, through an exquisitely subtle technique, it stimulated the weed's growth.
A moment later, the weed actually blossomed with a tiny white flower, a crystalline dewdrop gathering at its heart.
"The system's rules restrict 'initiating attacks,' but they never said I couldn't 'guide' things," Xiao Yan mused as he looked at the white flower. "Just like the Mo Family's greed. All I need to do is give them a gentle push, and they'll walk toward their own destruction."
He closed his eyes, and his emperor realm soul spread out once more. This time, it not only enveloped the Xiao Clan but extended into every corner of Wutan City. He was searching for the hidden Misty Cloud Sect elder while waiting for those "fish" tempted by gold to take the bait.
Night fell again. Several dark figures slipped into the Xiao Clan like wildcats, avoiding the patrolling guards as they silently approached Xiao Yan's courtyard.
Their leader was a one-eyed man who had once been the chief of the Black Wind Stronghold. After the stronghold was destroyed, he had become an outlaw. He looked at the courtyard's wooden gate, greed glittering in his eye. "Once we capture Xiao Yan, the thousand taels of gold will be ours!"
They carefully pushed open the half-closed gate. The moment they stepped into the courtyard, the ground beneath their feet suddenly gave way, and they plunged straight down!
"Damn it, a trap!" the one-eyed man cried. He tried to summon his dou qi to break free, only to discover that the surrounding dou qi had become impossibly viscous, as though he had fallen into a mire.
Xiao Yan had "inadvertently" dug the trap during the day and covered it with weeds and loose soil, making it look utterly unremarkable. At its bottom, however, he had laid a thin film of weak dou qi that could temporarily immobilize low-level cultivators.
"Help!"
"Someone save us!"
Several panicked cries rose from the pit. Xiao Yan soon covered it with a large stone, leaving only a few small airholes.
Though he had dealt with the first wave of trouble, Xiao Yan did not relax. He knew this was only the beginning. Bigger fish were still to come.
He returned to his room and took out the black wooden box. This time, he decided to try undoing its seal.
Gentle soul power flowed from his fingertips, seeping like a slender stream into the patterns on the box's surface. Under its stimulation, the ancient sealing lines slowly lit up, as though coming alive.
Xiao Yan's heart stirred. The paths along which these lines operated actually bore some resemblance to a secret soul technique he had practiced in his previous life.
Could Mother have practiced a secret soul technique too?
He guided his soul power along the paths of the patterns. Like a lock opened by its key, the seal gave a faint click.
The wooden box opened.
Inside were no gold or jewels, nor any earth-shaking Dou Technique—only an archaic ring and half of a broken Jade Pendant.
The ring was plain in design and made of an unknown material, with a blurred "Xiao" character engraved on its surface. The half Jade Pendant was smooth and warm, carved with a flame-shaped pattern that bore some striking resemblance to the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame.
Xiao Yan picked up the Jade Pendant. A warm current instantly surged from his fingertips into his body, producing a wondrous resonance with the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame in his dantian.
Just then, his soul power suddenly sensed a concealed aura somewhere in the city fluctuate sharply, then swiftly settle again, as though it had never appeared.
"Found you!" Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. Though fleeting, that aura carried the Misty Cloud Sect's distinctive fluctuations of spiritual power. Its cultivation was also extremely high—at least Mid-Stage Dou Wang!
The other party had clearly sensed the Jade Pendant's fluctuations.
Xiao Yan immediately put the Jade Pendant into his Storage Ring and suppressed the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame's aura.
"It seems this half Jade Pendant is what the Misty Cloud Sect truly wants." He tightened his grip on the archaic ring, a plan already forming in his mind.
Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.
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